Iranian state television has aired a program in which a young man alleged to be a captured CIA spy of Iranian origin confessing to his "mission" to infiltrate that country's intelligence ministry.

Iranian media also said that two Kuwaitis detained in Iran for spying last month have been cleared of their charges and released.

The semiofficial Mehr news agency quoted Iran's ambassador to Kuwait, Ruhollah Qahremani, as saying the men had illegally worked as journalists in Iran while traveling on tourist visas, but speculation they were spies had been wrong.